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Hey y’all! The fashion posts are officially back! I am so passionately in love with this dress that I had to make a post immediately.

So obviously, I’ve been pretty absent from this blog. However, no apologies or excuses. Life happened; that’s it.

The title of today’s blog is brought to you by my obsession with Break Free by Zedd/Ariana Grande. I’m not a big fan of Ariana, but mostly anything by Zedd really gets me boogieing out of my seat.

Update on my life? Being captain is hard work. Getting tan basically happened over night. The side-braid is unsurprisingly omnipresent. The textbook buying process was significantly more difficult than semesters past. Using blogspot for blogging is excruciating (doing it for a class). I’m feeling more confident and fabulous that I ever have, thanks to my beautiful friends. Choreographing a sassy swing dance is so much fun. I’m genuinely interested in all of my classes this semester, no matter how frustrating they may be. On the first day my professor for Dinosaurs legit squatted on a chair in the front of the class and pretended to lay an egg. College, man.

This dress is just so. flippin. cute! The box pleats are incredibly flattering, and teal and gray are my favorite colors to wear! When I saw this dress online, I knew I absolutely had to have it. It fits like a damn glove. The best part easily is that the teal isn’t just big ol’ polka dots; they’re actually speech bubbles!

This is just the perfect dress for me, and I’m so happy about it’s existence in my closet (or more currently: on my body.) I got so many nice compliments today, and yeah… I’m feeling good about it. Did ya notice?

Also this lippie is bomb. I’m all about that deepened radiant orchid color for this fall. Highly recommend.

P.S. Here’s a super cute pic of me and my roommate, Heather. She’s gorgeous and just as fabulous as I. I love her!

I’m not a huge Almay fan; this is actually the only product I own from them. However, I heard some gal on youtube talking about these, and one day I decided to try one of these “liquid lip balms.” Then a few months later I somehow found myself with almost the entire collection. I have 8 shades total, and I believe there are 10 total. I only have 7 shades swatched here though; the other one got lost in the depths of my backpack.

Now let’s get down to it.

They’re all creamy finishes with decent pigmentation; obviously some shades are more vibrant than others when on the lips. They have the perfect amount of shine for me! Just enough to make my lips look pout-y and plump. Also, they have a sweet vanilla/cupcakey smell that I find delightful, but it might bother others. The wear time is pretty average for a gloss: probably around 2-3 hours depending on the shade and what your mouth is up to. Some of the shades do have a light staining effect as well.

As for the liquid lip balm claim? These are pretty moisturizing; they feel fantastic on the lips. They don’t dry out my lips as they fade, which is a huge plus. The label says its “color + care” and although they feel comfortable, I wouldn’t say they’re doing anything for my lips. I’m not complaining, though, these look and feel really good.

Lip Swatches:

Blooming Balm

– A light neutral pink. This was the first one I ever bought. Although it isn’t very exciting, I wear this one so often. It’s the perfect topper for a huge spectrum of pinks, because it’s pigmentation isn’t overwhelming. I also like this shade for a more natural, easy look.

Cantaloupe Cream

– Very light orange. This shade has very little pigmentation, but I like using it over corals to make them a little more orangey/peachy. This line doesn’t really have a true coral: probably one of it’s main cons.

Lilac Love

– This is one of my favorite shades. It’s light but the color is definitely there. I am totally digging the light purple-pink shades for this spring and summer. This is a fool proof way to rock the color!

Apricot Pucker

– Medium orange. This shade is basically just a darker version of Cantaloupe Cream. Since this shade isn’t fully opaque, it layers with the natural color of my lips and creates a really pretty coral color. I actually really like how this looks!

Apple a Day

– Sheer, true red. I love wearing this when I want a red lip, but I don’t want to fully commit to a full punch lipstick. This was the shade I had wanted to try in the first place and had to hunt down for quite a while. I definitely recommend this one! This shade also stains the lips, and the color lasts even after the shine wears off.

Pink Pout

– A medium raspberry pink. I like this shade, but it’s nothing outstanding. I like this for a nice wash of color, though, and it does the job for a nice pink lip.

Just Plum Good

– A medium purpley pink. Although this gloss looks a little intimidating in the tube, the color sheers out perfectly on the lips for a pop of purple. The shade is still vibrant, but in a subtle, wearable way. This was one of my go to’s for the winter months, and I’ll continue to rock it into the warmer weather.

Bottom line: these are pretty good glosses. There’s nothing about them that is super spectacular, but they smell good, look good, and are easy to wear. These are great beginner glosses as well! These will definitely remain a staple product in my makeup cycle.

What’s your favorite summer gloss?

xoxo Gigi.

P.S. How is it possible that the bottom half of my face can look so different just with slight shifts of the camera angle? Looking at all those close up lip swatches is messing with me.

This Spring I’ve latched on to a couple of fantastic drugstore lip products. They’re all relatively lightweight and easy to wear. I’ve definitely the radiant orchid lip trend, and a few of these lippies are perfect to rock it in a very wearable way! Swatches time! From left to right:

1. Revlon Lip Butter in Lollipop – It’s a really pretty purple-pink with some micro-glitter. The glitters make the lips look fuller and fabulous! This has been one of my absolute go-tos.

2. Almay Liquid Lip Balm in Lilac Love – I cant get enough of these glosses! The formula is just so smooth, and they smell fantastic. This color is a really light purple with pinky undertones, the perfect radient orchid color. When I’m not wearing the Lip Butter, I’m probably wearing this.

3. Wet n Wild Megalast Lipstick in Mauve Outta Here – This is the perfect deeper pink. It’s a my-lips-but-better color but deepened just right. This formula is budge-proof and stays looking great for record time. And it’s super inexpensive!

4. Maybelline Elixir in Blush Essence – Although I’m not a huge fan of the scent, this gloss is pigmented and long-lasting. This color in particular is such a pretty shade of pink, as well!

5. CoverGirl Jump Gloss Balm in 217 Frosted Cherry Twist – Although I don’t think the name fits it, this subtle pinky coral is perfect to throw on for a bright pop on the lips!

6. Maybelline Color Sensationals in Violet Intrigue and Blushing Beige – These two on their own don’t flatter me too well, but together they create the perfect medium purple that really fits the spring and summer trends. These lipsticks are creamy and comfortable on the lips while packing high color. I don’t even mind the play-doh smell. The last swatch is what these two look like when mixed.

So there you have it: a handful of my current favorite lippies! I have a mighty need for more corals in my collection, so maybe when I find a few good ones I’ll make another post.

With tax refund season comes haul season! I was able to get my hands on a couple of makeup items that I’ve been lusting over at the drugstore for a while! Obviously it’s not all from Bath & Body Works. That’s just the bag I had handy to hold it all. And it’s a cute bag.

The powder and mascara were just repurchases. The Baby Skin is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while! I’ve only used it once but so far I really like how it feels on my skin, how it makes my concealer and powder go on, and how it makes my pores look!

I love the Color Tattoos and I wanted this one to go with my Naked 3. Also I’ve been loving pinky/rose golds and this’ll help amp them up! I’ve been seeing a lot of people talking about both the PF and Maybelline mosaic face things. They’re all in that gorgeous rosy bronze shade and I had to have them.

Love me some lipsticks. I’m still on the lookout for the lighter coral color in the matte balms, but I grabbed this bright fuscia color in the mean time. It’s a little too bright for me, but I’m not giving up on it yet. I wanted to try a similar product from the ELF line so I picked up this nudey color. I also picked up my first Milani lipsticks! I got two deep rosy shades that I love. And my search for the Megalast lipstick in tea rose continues. This was the only lipstick left in the display, but I liked the shade still so I grabbed it.

Maybelline The Elixir in Blush Essence
Almay Liquid Lip Balm in Rosy Lipped, Lilac Love, and Apple a Day

Everyone’s also been ranting or raving over the Elixir lip glosses. I picked one up, but the smell really turns me off of it. The shade is okay, but I can’t get past the lingering smell. The Almay glosses, however, smell delicious and are my favorite glosses from the drugstore thus far. I’m slowly working on completing my collection. The Lilac one really surprised me! It’s pretty pigmented and makes my lips a wearable shade of that Radiant Orchid color! And Apple a Day is so perfect for a low maintenance red lip. I’m in makeup love!

Sinful Colors – Baby Blues
Wet n Wild – Private Viewing

I needed more spring pastel nail polishes. Nuff said.

Garnier Fructis Texturizing Spray
Tresemme Dry Shampoo

Since cutting my hair, I want to experiment with some loose beachy waves and curls, so I picked this up. Also, I’m trying every drugstore shampoo until I find the one that’s best for me. This is my 4th brand so far. I haven’t really tried it yet.

Bath & Body Works fragrance mist in Amber Blush

It was on sale, and it smelled fantastic, so I bought it on an impulse.

WHOO this was a pretty big haul. But I got a lot of sales and stuff so I didn’t do too much damage. A girl can never have too much makeup!!! I also did a lot of fashion shopping this week, so once all my online purchases arrive I’ll do a Try-On Fashion Haul. So stay tuned!

Over my winter break, I’ve discovered a new love for nudes. Nude lipsticks that is. While I still love darker colors, I think nudes compliment so many eye looks and can be much more wearable. My berry lippies will forever be my favorite, but I thought it was time to branch out.

Finding the perfect nude for me has been difficult to say the least. I have a warm skin tone, but really pink cheeks, so finding the perfect shade for my complexion has been tricky. What I’ve been doing is finding the lipstick and then pairing it with opposite toned lipgloss. For example, I’ll wear a peach toned lipstick with a rosy gloss on top. This combo plays off of my skin pretty well. I also try to go for sheer-er formulas that let my naturally pink lip color show through to neutralize it a bit. So the hunt is still on, but right now I have a small little nude team that’s been working for me.

I might have more nudey colors at school that I didn’t bring home because I thought I would never wear them. But these are the ones that I like for not only the color but for the formula as well. Also, this is my first Almay lip product and I must say I absolutely love it! (It smells and tastes like cupcakes!)

When I saw that Maybelline came out with a nude line of lipsticks, I practically flipped out. It’s like they had read my mind! But the shade I picked up was just way too close to my skin tone, so it made me look dead. I was determined to make it work though, so I added a really bright and pigmented glossy stain over top it it. It created a really pretty rosey shade that is actually quite perfect for my skin tone. I feel like this lipstick will work as a great base for overly bright lipsticks that I want to make more wearable. See? There’s a bright side to everything.

If you ever thought nudes weren’t for you, like I did for quite a while, you just need to find the perfect tone for your skin. It might be an intense quest, but it’ll all be worth it. (Too much? Oh well. I mean serious business when it comes to lipsticks.)